Mike Brown got a new contract today. Cavs never tell me the numbers, but I called some people and it sounds he’s on his way to getting his pay doubled from a little over $2 million this year to more than $4 million during the extension, which gives him two more years to 2011. Bet he had a good weekend.
In general, I’m not in favor giving a coach a contract extension in the middle of the season. Last summer I mocked the Indians for signing Eric Wedge in the middle of the season and joked about a “mission accomplished” banner. Also, James Dolan was laughed at across the league when he extended Isiah Thomas’ contract during last season. This deal should’ve been given last summer. But the Cavs didn’t sign anyone over the summer, doing deals in the regular season has become, well, regular. So, I will move on about the timing. They told him last summer they were going to extend him and they’ve stuck to their promise.
I find myself feeling like I am defending Brown a lot to readers or on talk shows. People really focus on his shortcomings. He has them and they’ve been discussed here a great deal and they will be discussed more. I think part of the reason is that he doesn’t command respect with his demeanor. In front of the cameras he’s always hokey, pretends to know nothing and always tries to divert attention with jokes. It’s an act, the man is usually well prepared and a very deep thinker. He also always takes the blame for things, never calling out a player or ever raising personnel issues. Remember the Paul Silas line: “Look, you can’t make chicken salad with you know what.” That earns him points in the organization but not with the fans.
The NBA is a bottom line business. Here are some bottom lines: Brown’s got the best winning percentage in team history. He has the first back-to-back 50 win seasons in 14 years. He’s got four playoff series wins in two years. He promised he’d make the Cavs a defense-based team and he has. Over the last year coaches like Sam Mitchell, Lawrence Frank and Eddie Jordan have gotten new deals and Brown has accomplished more than all of them. He was one of the lowest-paid coaches in the league, he had earned a raise. Sure, he’s got LeBron James. Show me someone considered to be a good coach who didn’t have great players.
The last Cavs coach who merited an extension was Mike Fratello, who never got the Cavs out of the first round of the playoffs. The Cavs haven’t exactly had a great history to put Brown’s accomplishments in great context but looking at the coaches the Cavs have had over the last decade what he’s done deserves positive attention.
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Great article, congrats to Mike Brown, mayb he will donate his money towards free agency in the future. ha
Hey Windhorst have you ever gone 101 mph??? lets hear the truth!!
Go CAVS
BW
Agreed. Good for the Cavs.
Good job by the Cavs. BW – can you blog about some possible trades that you think would work next time?
I’m fine with Brown. Ferry still has a lot to prove, though.
The Cavs never tell you the numbers, but you disseminated their nonsense when they told you that Varejao’s agent was demanding 30 gazillion a year. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that sorta odd.
Speaking of sorta odd, the timing of this extension I just don’t understand. Just a few weeks ago, there was a mini-mutiny involving Damon Jones and Ira Newble when they refused to go into a game. Sure, they’re both bad news stiffs, but the GM didn’t suspend either one of them. Not exactly a sign of a coach that commands respect, either from his players or from his own boss.
Furthermore, it’s not like Brown would be in heavy demand if he ever became a free agent head coach. I presume he’d be as much in demand as Randy Wittman would be. Which is to say that he’d likely be holding some head coach’s clipboard for a few seasons. So why extend the contract now? I don’t get it.
Excellent post, Brian.
I think a lot of the hate issued by basketball charlatans is because of MB’s way of talking to the media. He’s very personable and gives his players all the credit. The Cavs are very fortunate to have MB. Once we get some players watch out.
Despite having LeBron, Brown might have the toughest job in the league.
Expectations are high and just about every other player on the roster is either inconsistent or a limited specialist of one sort or another. Brown’s got to constantly juggle lineups and, despite the franchise’s supposed dedication to keeping only high character players, he’s got a pretty flakey bunch to manage.
It would have looked very bad on the Cavs if they did not give Mike Brown an extension. First ever trip to the finals and back to back 50 win seasons not good enough for the Cavs? what coach or player for that matter would want to come to an organization with that kind of attitude? Brown has shortcomings, but hell it isn’t like this team has the most talent in the league. far from it. the team might not even look good on offense, but more often than not under Brown, we win. Like Brian said, thats the bottom line
Mike Brown, for all his faults, deserved an extension. He has after all, taken the Cavs to heights they have never reached before despite having a flawed roster to begin with. Sure he has Lebron James but there are many other teams with better lineups which fared far worse. And as of last count he has taken the Cavs from ECF semi-finalists to NBA Finalists in the two years he’s been here. NOt bad, really.
Having said that, the Cavs need to address their atrocious offense and that maddening 3rd quarter malady. I think the best move is to give Mike Brown an offensive genius, something something similar to Tex Winter is to Phil Jackson. Now, if Borwn is tooo stuborn to admit the need for help, then to hell with him.
are you peoples crasy? potatoe head deserves an extension as much as joehoops dreservs alan tuckers’ respect…peace n grace billy
hey alan t. do u think that the chairman of your fan club is trying to start a fan club with me now? boy i tell you people will do anything for a laugh…I think the signing sucks, and lebron endorsing the extension do not make it any better, he always say the right things. this team plays with no passion and that is a reflection of the coach…. will someone please tell that imposter he is funny so he could go away…GRACE AND PEACE, BILLY.. HEY IMPOSTER REPENT OF YOUR SINS AND TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST.
Crap, I was hoping that Alan Tucker would get the Cavs coaching job. He has all the answers!! What a shame!
Mike Brown is not a great coach. Mike Brown is not a horrible coach. He’s the definition of mediocrity. Sure, BW brings up his positive attributes, but we could just as easily bring up his negatives. I don’t know why Cleveland teams always rush to give these mediocre coaches contract extensions.
I agree, JoeHoops, I would love the man who pretends to have answers coach this team. If I were Gilbert, I would seriously make Alan the GM for a season or two. It would be hilarious. I would also make Billy the coach of the team so he could throw all the games and therefore maintain his pleasure with the Cavs losing. All would be good in the internet world.
the cavaliers have been one of the sorriest franchises the nba has had since 1970. The cavaliers never have won a championship. Their only conference championship was last year…under Mike Brown. The guy has won 4 playoff series, won a conference championship. Yes he has Lebron, and very little else. If anyone thinks Lebron did not sign off on this is nuts
Now isn’t it time to lock up that award-winning mascot long term?
Now Ferry can focus on getting a deal done…
That “mutiny” was handled the way it should have been, with two washed up players acting unprofessionally and being ignored. What’d you want Ferry or Brown to do? Validate the two stooges by responding with a fiery press conference, I suppose. The silence was deafening after that stunt, and instead of blowing it out of proportion, they let it speak for itself. Let them “mutiny” their way out of the NBA.
This isnt New York, and thank heavens, we dont root for the Knicks. This is a first class organization now, and Mike Brown is a big part of that. Well-deserved and even a little overdue. Now fix the roster.
Moondog needs to make like a dinosaur and be extinct… send him to Vick’s house.
All these “mediocre” coaches in Cleveland have done is take franchises that were putrid and turn them into yearly playoff teams and championship contenders. All 3 sports. I suppose you dont like Jim Tressel either?
This board needs an imbecile filter.
Josh, any GM with any semblance of balls would have suspended those two talentless stiffs for at least one game without pay. Point blank. If nothing else, it tells the public precisely who’s running the show, that being the general manager and his head coach. Anything less says that the GM is a spineless wussy who has little respect for his people.
amen alan t. you should embrace Jesus. GRACE AND PEACE billy
My name is Damona and I will enter the game when I
WANNA. And I am Ira “I think I’ll suit up” Newble. So all
you haters get off our union butts. Work rules say coffee
breaks all the time and our unyun prezident just got a
RAYZ. Business as usual in Cavalier ER I mean Boystown.
I don’t know what happened behind closed doors with Damon Jones and Ira Newble. Neither does anybody commenting here. Both Jones and Newble have contributed without incident following the problem, which would be the point of any kind of suspension or other discipline. If anything, the Jones and Newble incident is an example of how the success of this franchise has been borne out of actual results, rather than flashy actions that command attention.
Mike Brown has been successful by preaching defense and rebounding, and when the Cavs do those things, they win games. In Cleveland, a place where millionaire athletes are not inclined to live during the winter, you need a coach who can get solid, fundamental basketball from his players. Through 2 1/2 seasons, Brown has done that, and I have no problem with the Cavaliers extending his contract.
That is not to say that Brown has been perfect. His offensive system does a remarkably bad job of putting his players in the best position to succeed. Part of that can be blamed on the lack of an accomplished point guard, but the people filling in at the point for the Cavs, like Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson and even Damon Jones, have never been obligated to make the traditional point guard plays, like making sure the ball goes into the post. Brown also had a tough time getting his team refocused for this season, demonstrated most profoundly by the embarrassing defeat the Mavericks laid on them in the opener.
But on the whole, Brown has been very successful as the Cavs head coach. All coaches have their problems, just look at the mess Pat Riley has made for himself in Miami. As long as the Cavaliers continue to play good defense and rebound well, they are going to win games. And as long as the Cavs are winning games, Brown should be the head coach.
Go Cavs. Please don’t take Memphis too lightly tonight.
Mike C.
Great. What’s more annoying….Alan’s nonstop rants and ramblings or his new little pet toy Billy who praises Jesus every time Alan speaks?
i think brown should of got a 1 year extension , just to see what he would do with an improved roster . and that’s hoping ferry upgrades that roster in the off season , but there is no way i would of gave him 2 years . i don’t see him making it to the full 2 years on his contract , but i hope ferry goes before him .
Suspending Ira and Damon for one game at that time would have been hilarious because neither of them was going to play in the next game anyways.
Even the national media reacted with basically a shrug, which is staggering considering the way ESPN and co. blow things out of proportion…I think I heard Ric Bucher mutter something along the lines of “Ira Newble is still alive?” when the story broke. It was a non-issue when it happened, and at this point, we in the BW Universe seem to be the last few even mentioning it. That’s some mutiny.
Does anyone else find it funny that THESE two players decide to rebel, what with such a sore lack of talent and such an embarrassment of wealth due to their awful contracts?? Who came out looking worse? The front office for basically laughing them back to their respective front row season tickets, or the “players” who arent good enough to play, much less play hardball with management? Be glad you’re even in the NBA, boys…
With that said, Ferry does need to make a move, and soon, if for no other reason than to show the franchise that he has a pulse. Extending the coach certainly wont improve the roster, which is what the Cavs need most.
what’s up with the remaining injured cavs? when should we expect the return of donyell from the wrist injury/finger infection, and e-snow’s from the knee injury? are they capable of playing now?
Damon Jones has not played badly this year. He has made some big shots. Get off his back.
I’m glad they resigned Brown.
He took THE WORST perimeter-defensive team and turned it into one of the best in 2 years – with players that really aren’t defensive juggernauts. He deserved the extension. He needs to play Damon Jones more and Sasha less.
Remember when Sasha said “my offense is my defense?”
Right now he is 289 out of 296 in terms of effeciency in the NBA.
Just so you guys know – when LeBron, Boobie, and DJ are on the court at the same time…
Minutes: 75
+/-: +39 points
“Show me someone considered to be a good coach who didn’t have great players.”
Jerry Sloan 2003-04 season
LeCavalier, without pay.
Don’t forget to force them to wear dunce caps for the next five…
OK, how about firing Danny Ferry for putting together such an atrocious team?
Also, we don’t have the personnel to be a defense first team…the only people who can consistently hit shots on this team besides Lebron are Gibson and Damon Jones, and they both such as defenders.
Nevermind Mike Bibby, how about Ron Artest? Maybe he can punch some sense into some of the idiots who post on the topix forums…
As I wrote back during the summer, Danny Ferry should be ashamed of the lack of support he has given Mike Brown and LBJ. If he want to do this team some good he could acquire Pau Gasol and Stoudamire from Memphis (the first is on the block and the second is on the bench) for Gooden, Hughes, Brown and a draft pick.
It would be good for the Cavs by adding a legitimate All Star and a point guard. It would be good for Memphis by giving them quality talent for their future.